A.R.E. Blog

(Q) Will the New Year unfold greater opportunities for my professional advancement and my greater service to my fellow man?
(A) These are part of self’s own development and must rise within by taking advantage of those opportunities which are offered from day to day. As has so oft been indicated, and this body will find same within its own experience, it is as we use that in hand that the greater opportunities are given. (Edgar Cayce Reading 1472-9)

With the passing of each year, all of us are faced with the time-honored tradition of New Year’s resolutions. Resolutions date back to Babylonian times, through Ancient Rome, on the coattails of Christianity, all the way to Puritan New England. There is something about the passing of time that calls humankind to change for the better.

Common resolutions include, but are not limited to read more, lose weight, save money, be kinder, avoid stress, and meditate. Whatever the idea behind the desire to change, many of us do not follow through with our resolutions. By Valentine’s Day, the list is buried somewhere in the bottom of a purse or was used as scratch paper for last week’s grocery list.

From personal experience, I have learned that change rarely occurs overnight, and it takes work to change. If change were easy, humankind would not need to set resolutions every year!
With a few simple steps and practical tips, I believe anyone can make it through the year with their resolutions intact.

He without an ideal is sorry indeed; he with an ideal and lacking courage to live it is sorrier still. Know that. (Edgar Cayce Reading 1402-1)

Step 1: Compile a List

Resolutions may be simple or elaborate. Try to keep the list concise. This list is not to be considered as etched in stone, but flexible to change, as a person does, throughout the year.

Keep the most current list handy.

Improve Diet

Lose Weight

Exercise Three Times a Week

Write More

Start School

Be of Service to Others

Read Daily

Run the Halapua Half Marathon in April

Be More Prosperous

Run the Honolulu Marathon in December

Meditate Daily

Create a Four-Part Blog on Resolutions

One of the influences that must first be builded, then, is to first know thy ideals—spiritually, mentally, materially, (Edgar Cayce Reading 2021-1)

Step 2: Climb Steps, Not Boulders

There are no rules to resolutions. Many times we over burden ourselves with expectations of change. Is it no wonder, then, that resolutions are hard to keep? Do not try resolutions all at once. There are 12 months to a year in which an individual may work on themselves. The best part is that any resolutions that are not completed this year, may be completed the following year.

Step 3: Allow the Momentum to Build

I recommend designing resolutions to build throughout the year. Include some good habits from the previous year that you desire to maintain this year. Do not set yourself up for failure. If a person desires to finish his/her master’s degree this year, but has yet to complete a bachelor’s degree, then that resolution may not be realistic and should be saved for another time. Use logic and be kind to oneself.

Step 4: Give Thanks

Make resolutions fun and remember to celebrate accomplishments, no matter how small. The universe will recognize the effort regardless of the outcome. Just the desire to better oneself is of significant value.

It is the “try” that is the more often counted as righteousness, and NOT the success or failure. Failure to anyone should be as a stepping-stone and not as a millstone. (Edgar Cayce Reading 931-1)

Step 5: Visualize the Outcome

Personally I am planning to layer my resolutions throughout the year. I currently read and meditate daily, so I will continue to do so in 2014. I have plans to run a half marathon in April, I will need to improve my diet to lose a couple of pounds, and I will need to begin my 12-week training schedule very soon. By mid-April, I am planning to complete almost half of my 2014 resolution list. I have already begun to write more in 2014.

The length of a person’s resolution list does not matter. It will not matter if all or none of the resolutions are achieved. The universe will recognize the desire of the individual that is a change in and of itself.

The unseen forces work best when we have faith in them, a demonstrated faith shown by allowing them to work their magical way through our bodies, minds, hearts, and lives. From John Van Auken’s book Jesus: His Words Decoded, His Mystery Teachings Revealed

Deirdre L. Aragon is a Laguna Pueblo Indian, who spent the early years of her life on the Laguna Pueblo Reservation in New Mexico. Her paternal grandmother and aunt, who were tribal healers, taught Deirdre the wisdom and teachings of her tribe. She was raised in a home where metaphysical principles and holistic healing were accepted and practiced as a way of life. During a near death experience when she was ten years old, Deirdre was given the "mark of the shaman" from the Spirit World. Accepting her abilities, Deirdre has designed several healing techniques based on her personal experiences and knowledge gained through various sources and is an active speaker. She participated in A.R.E. Search for God Study Groups since she was a child and has been a student of the Unity Movement for over 15 years. Deirdre currently resides in Oahu with her family. You'll find her website Noble Minds, a companion on the path of enlightenment, online at Noble-minds.com.

Evolutionary Spirituality and the Edgar Cayce Work
By Lynn Sparrow Christy

Adapted from her article The New New Age:
Re-Discovering the Cutting-Edge Qualities of the Edgar Cayce Work in Oct-Dec 2013 Venture Inward, members can read the full article online at EdgarCayce.org/members.

As the New Age movement picked up momentum during the last decades of the 20th century, Edgar Cayce began sounding pretty stodgy to many people. Seek a life of service; root out tendencies toward selfishness in your patterns of thought and behavior; attend to your body’s health with careful nutrition, exercise, and other lifestyle choices; set an ideal that you can live by as you go about your normal life activities; form intentional groups to bolster your resolve and follow through; make a difference in your world; pray; meditate—none of these had quite the wow factor that seemed to fuel popular New Age culture. What about experiences in altered states of consciousness? What about great psychic attainments? What about contact with entities on higher planes? What about the power of stones and crystals? While the Cayce readings address all of these things and more with great depth and considerable sophistication, they were often branded as beginners’ material simply because they do not emphasize the phenomenal aspect of the spiritual path.

If we take the time to look, we will find that the Cayce material is at the cutting edge of some of the most important developments on the contemporary spiritual scene. For, even as the popular explosion of New Age interest in the late 20th century was drawing increasing criticism for its tendency toward somewhat narcissistic and magical thinking, other influences were growing up alongside it. Influences that took the best of the burgeoning spiritual awakening and wedded it to science, philosophy, anthropology, and sociology. Influences that have now come together to form an expansive and promising spirituality for the 21st century that is both “integral” and “evolutionary” in the way it draws upon diverse sources of knowledge and wisdom in order to engage creatively with an evolving cosmos, world, and human psyche—a new New Age that is all grown up in comparison to its late 20th-century counterpart. And it turns out the Cayce work was there all along.

Like integralism, the “evolutionary” approach to spirituality promises to reshape the way we think about our place in this world. To appreciate its impact, it is important to recognize that evolutionary spirituality goes beyond the age-old concept of soul evolution, which casts the earth as the place where we come to learn lessons, grow, and work through our karma. From this perspective, the earth plane is often at best little more than the schoolhouse of the soul and at worst the prison of illusion that we seek to escape at the earliest possible time.

By contrast, from the evolutionary perspective, the opportunity of incarnation has as much to do with the evolution of the cosmos as it does our own development. And most evolutionary thinkers point to human consciousness as the current frontier of evolution as it manifests here on earth. The Divine Source from which we arise has an irrepressible drive to create, and we are on the advancing edge of ongoing creation. Our primary role is that of co-creator and the theater of our creative operation is here, in this three-dimensional world of form.

Lynn Sparrow Christy is a teacher, writer, and hypnotherapist-life coach. With more than 40 years’ experience in both traditional and alternative approaches to spirituality and personal growth, Lynn is committed to helping today’s spiritual seekers find authentic and practical pathways to growth. Her latest book, published recently by A.R.E. Press, addresses the “evolutionary” aspects of the Cayce readings with Beyond Soul Growth: Awakening to the Call of Cosmic Evolution.

Snow in Egypt?
By Alison Ray

For the first time in more than 100 years (more precisely 112 years) people from all nations saw the images of snow falling on Cairo, Egypt and even the Giza plateau. Given its desert climate, any precipitation in Cairo is rare; the city averages less than an inch of rain per year and warm, the average temperature in Cairo in December is nearly 60 degrees Fahrenheit. However, there were images of Cairo blanketed in snow, pictures of camels curled up in the snow, even images of the pyramids with a light dusting of snow. The photo of the pyramids, which was shared by tens of thousands of social-networkers has since been deemed a ‘fake’ but the outlines of the majestic pyramids seeming to glow with a bright white hue caused me to wonder if that was how they looked when they were first built.

While traditional archaeology suggests that the Great Pyramid was built around 2500 B.C. under the Pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) who ruled from 2551-2528 B.C., according to the Cayce readings, the pyramids are much older. The Great Pyramid was constructed between 10,490 and 10,390 B.C. by the efforts of an earlier incarnation of Edgar Cayce as the high priest Ra Ta and the efforts of the native Egyptians and the Atlanteans. For all things old are not primitive, in fact, the readings indicate that this was a spiritually and technologically advanced society that created temples for teaching the ‘Law of One.’ In addition, there were centers of learning called Temple Beautiful much like universities for teaching of vocations, meditation, and universal laws. There was also the Temple of Sacrifice much like a hospital and spa for physical and mental purification and rejuvenation. There were emissaries sent around the world to share the teaching and ideals.

It was the building of the Great Pyramid that unified the people with “what may be truly termed the first national or nation spirit of a peoples…” (Edgar Cayce reading 195-151) “Hence there began the first preparation for what has later become that called The Great Pyramid, that was to be the presentation of that which had been gained by these peoples through the activities of Ra-Ta…” (195-151) The Great Pyramid was built for the preservation of their understanding “not only for those in the present but for the generations that were to come…” (Edgar Cayce reading 294-151)

The Great Pyramid was built by Ra Ta working with Hermes as the construction architect and Ra Ta’s wife, Isris, for counsel and advice. “Then began the laying out of the pyramid and the building of same…” (294-151) It was designed based on “the position of the various stars, that acted in the place about which this particular solar system circles…” (Edgar Cayce reading 294-151) The Great Pyramids was “to be the place of initiation of the initiates that were to act in the capacity of leaders in the various activities…” (294-151)

Reading 5748-6 explains how the pyramid was built:

(Q) How was this particular Great Pyramid of Gizeh built?
(A) By the use of those forces in nature as make for iron to swim. Stone floats in the air in the same manner. This will be discovered in '58.

While the readings did not predict snow in Egypt, they did suggest that one day we may again become unified as one people and that one day the Hall of Records will provide “proof of the information may be found…for physically there are evidences of the activity of mental man in archaeological works, see?” (Edgar Cayce reading 254-47)

Alison Ray works as marketing manager for Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. where she is responsible for membership, public information, Venture Inward, and the Web. Before moving from Chicago to Virginia Beach, she was the Assistant Vice President of Discover Home Loans, a private label mortgage program under Morgan Stanley, offering home equity loans to Discover Card members. A long-time Egypt enthusiast, she regularly practices meditation and Tai Chi, and makes jewelry.

Edgar Cayce, Feng Shui, and Mindfullness
By Peggy Joy Cross

The mind is the builder. How many times have we heard and read these words from the Edgar Cayce readings? Our minds form our thoughts, and from our thoughts come our actions, or sometimes lack thereof, and from our actions come our results—the life that we create in our work, our play, our abundance, our service, our friends--all that we perceive in the world of form.

“For mind is the builder and that which we think upon may become crimes or miracles. For thoughts are things and as their currents run through the environs of an entity's experience these become barriers or steppingstones, dependent upon the manner in which these are laid as it were…..” (Edgar Cayce Reading 906-3)

Our thoughts are elements of creation. They are the seeds we sow for today, for this moment that will never again exist. We choose to be open or closed in our thoughts about what the universe presents to us as opportunities for guidance, learning, new experiences, service—a myriad of options that present themselves. When our minds and hearts are open, our experiences in turn generate further uplifting thoughts. This is a wonderful energy to offer to the universe as it will generate more of that same energy. This is the purpose of working with Feng Shui, to uplift our lives through the vibrations of our homes and ourselves and to share this with others.

However, sometimes our thoughts and the seeds we sow generate fear—a fear of lack, a fear of loss, a fear of the unknown, or perhaps useless thinking about the path not taken. Cayce said, “Fear is the root of most of the ills of mankind…” (5459-3) Our thoughts determine how we choose to perceive our world.

Our thought-filled minds are the source of our intentions, and paying attention to our intentions is at the foundation of the Black Sect Tantric Buddhist School of Feng Shui. In Feng Shui, the energy of our homes is seen and analyzed as a reflection of our inner self—our furniture, the color of our walls, our artwork, clutter or orderliness—they all have meaning. As within, so without. We choose those aspects of our lives we desire to enhance and shift and thoughtfully create our intentions and select objects to support those intentions. These might include artwork, mirrors, plants, candles, furniture, crystals, lights, wind chimes, fountains, flutes, and colors. Any object in your home or office to which you ascribe a special meaning can be utilized as one of these helpful reminders.

Our thought-filled minds are the source of our intentions, and paying attention to our intentions is at the foundation of the Black Sect Tantric Buddhist School of Feng Shui. In Feng Shui, the energy of our homes is seen and analyzed as a reflection of our inner self—our furniture, the color of our walls, our artwork, clutter or orderliness—they all have meaning. As within, so without. We choose those aspects of our lives we desire to enhance and shift and thoughtfully create our intentions and select objects to support those intentions. These might include artwork, mirrors, plants, candles, furniture, crystals, lights, wind chimes, fountains, flutes, and colors. Any object in your home or office to which you ascribe a special meaning can be utilized as one of these helpful reminders.

Color may be used to uplift, energize, or calm the emotional balance in a given room. Cayce said, “…the body mentally – and the body in its nerve reaction – would respond as quickly to color forces as it would to medicinal properties….” (4501-1) I have seen amazing and positive changes in romantic relationships as a result of the intentional use of pink and red.

Modern schools of Feng Shui rely on the Bagua, a life map that is used in conjunction with our homes and offices to help us see literally and metaphysically what is going on in our lives (because our personal space is a reflection of our life). There are specific areas of the Bagua, called Guas, that relate to all aspects of life. In the center of the Bagua is the tai chi symbol representing eternal change and flow—the integration of yin and yang, the complementary balancing and integration of opposites. There is no light without the dark. There is no rigid without the yielding. Using the Bagua to consider our life helps us to consider ourselves as deeply as we choose our inner life, our outer life, our work and purpose, our relationships, and every aspect of our being. This center, the Ming Tang, represents health—spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health—unity, and balance of all aspects of our life.

Feng Shui principles are a guide to living a life of purposeful work, harmonious relationships within families and business, increased knowledge, abundance, creative fulfillment, service, and a deep connection to the Divine in every aspect our of lives. This connection is at the core of Cayce’s life and teachings.

Cayce also understood the importance of peace and harmony in our homes, saying:

“For, as has been indicated from the innate experience as well as from the longings within, a home—home—with all its deeper, inner meanings, is a portion of the entity's desire; to know, to experience, to have the ‘feel’ of, to have the surroundings of that implied by the word home! Is it any wonder then that in all of thy meditation, Ohm-O-h-m-mmmmm has ever been, is ever a portion of that which raises self to the highest influence and the highest vibrations throughout its whole being that may be experienced by the entity?” (Edgar Cayce Reading 1286-1)

Peggy Joy Cross, ASID, has been a professional Feng Shui teacher, lecturer, writer and consultant since 1998. In her lectures and consulting she incorporates her background as an interior designer along with the knowledge from other schools, dowsing, meditation, ancient rituals and the Edgar Cayce readings. Peggy received her BFA in Interior Design from The Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL and her BA in Political Science from Indiana/Purdue Universities at Indianapolis. She is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers and The International Feng Shui Guild as well as a Florida licensed realtor and Virginia Certified Interior Designer. She will present the a new conference New Year, New Life: Using Feng Shui, the Creative Forces, and the Edgar Cayce Readings to Renew Home, Life, Body and Soul in Virginia Beach on Jan. 18, 2014.

Recent Posts

Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. blog offers opinion pieces from contributors with a wide variety of backgrounds. These opinions are valued and create points of discussion. Opinions expressed in our blog may not necessarily represent the opinion of A.R.E.